Steering

There are two basic formats for steering that I can think of, illustrated in the diagram above. The green bar is the handlebar, the blue dots are joints, the red are steering bars. The triangle represents the stem of the yoke that turns the wheels, in black. The handlebar turns about its center, not marked.

The first thing I think about them is that the push-pull format seems to work best when the steering is significantly behind the wheels, although I have seen other designs that use the lateral design from behind, and use a bent bar (the long red one in my diagram) to reach the wheels.

I think the real difference is the travel, how far you turn the handles to turn the wheels. I think the push-pull method would make the wheels turn quickly with very little motion of the handlebar, not a good thing. In the lateral method, the shorter the little bar (red) that connects the handlebar with the long red bar, the longer the travel of the handlebars.

It's also the method I've seen on pro trikes.